Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

Build Back Better Street Heat- Shoe Leather Legislators-Pavement Policymakers
BAR Poet-in-Residence Raymond Nat Turner
10 Nov 2021
🖨️ Print Article
Build Back Better Street Heat- Shoe Leather Legislators-Pavement Policymakers
Build Back Better Street Heat- Shoe Leather Legislators-Pavement Policymakers

CODE RED!!

 

Calling all street heat—shoe leather legislators— 

Calling all pavement policymakers bored by the bigtop:

clean coal clowns; fossil fools; net zero acrobats; carbon

jugglers…Bored by greasy-thumbed grifters and jingoist 

gangsters; Bored by junk metal-chested generals disguised 

as donkeys inside elephants—Tethered to tits on Wall Street’s 

bull… Blocking! Stalling! Gaslighting! Waging war by other names…

 

Calling all street heat—shoe leather legislators— 

Calling all pavement policymakers bored by the bigtop:

tired of 2/4 Dancers dancing the Limbo from bended knees;

Tired of them spinning spineless legislation swaddled in

rectangular rags—reaching across their arid aisle and

Externalizing excrement. Leaving dung-splattered streets to

3 monkeys who See No Oil; Hear No Coal; Speak of No Gas as evil…

 

Calling all street heat—shoe leather legislators— 

Calling all pavement policymakers… Who’ll stop 

the circus from sullying our names with climate 

crime? Who’ll say their names—their Wall Street 

gang names—reconnecting them to climate crimes?

Who’ll say Superstorm Chevron?

Nor’ easter Exxon; Tsunami Shell?

And who’ll say Blackened bird BP?

 

Calling all street heat—shoe leather legislators— 

Calling all pavement policymakers who may—or

may not—remember the Arab Spring; Remember Occupy

lingo “1%”/“99%.” Remember knitted brows; Remember  

putting forehead to problems

created by person Hoods—aka corporate kings and queens…

 

Calling all street heat—shoe leather legislators— 

Calling all pavement policymakers recall rubber 

bullet, plastic cuff, bloody, broken bone, stolen eyeball- 

tooth trauma…Recall draconian sentences required to

arrest killer cops; wrench slavers statues from pedestals; 

Rechristen schools, streets, parks, plazas, teams; Retire 

Unca Ben, Aunt Jemima with stars and bars at NASCAR

Calling all street heat—shoe leather legislators—

and scholars 

 

Calling all pavement policymakers—and professors…

Study resistance. Major in mass action. Your gait, your

posture’s perfect—like ours once were— 

Matriculate 2020-like. And defend dissertations entitled:

“Fossil Fuels, Force and Deception of The Corporate State—

University Of The Streets…”

 

© 2021. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.  

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


More Stories


  • Cover of the "We Charge Genocide" book
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    When Genocide Is No Longer Genocide
    13 Dec 2023
    Some of Israel's defenders want to do away with the concept of genocide in hopes of washing away its war crimes. Any redefinition would allow the U.S. to disappear the many genocides it has committed…
  • Image of Refaat Alareer sitting in a crowd of graduates
    Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    POEM: If I Must Die, Refaat Alareer, 2023
    13 Dec 2023
    Palestinian poet Refaat Alareer, a martyr of zionist state genocidal violence, has left us with a tale of resistance and hope.
  • Fists in the air
    ​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist
    Musings from the Margins #4: Black Lackeys, White Social Democrats, Human Rights and Empire’s Decline
    13 Dec 2023
    Black Agenda Report Editor and Columnist Ajamu Baraka has thoughts on Black Misleadership, faux human rights, the decline of the Empire, white Social Democrats, and other issues.
  • Pro-Palestinian protestors rally in support of Palestinians in Gaza
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    One State Reality
    13 Dec 2023
    Recognizing the one state reality of Israel-Palestine instead of two-state dreaming would be a huge paradigm shift with huge implications.
  • Joy James speaking on a panel at the Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice's Carceral State Reading
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Joy James’ Book, “New Bones Abolition”
    13 Dec 2023
    In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book. This week’s featured author is Joy James. Dr. James is Ebenezer Fitch Professor of Humanities at Williams College.…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us